do stem cell hair loss treatments really work the term stem cells
makes any product or treatment sound advanced as if derived from the cutting edge of science
there are a lot of products and services using the term stem cell hair restoration prompting
many people to desperately try any treatment to help them with their hair loss
as a practicing doctor for over 25 years and the founder of TrichoStem Hair Regeneration where
we have been helping people with male and female pattern hair loss since 2011 with a wound healing
technology that recruits your adult stem cells from your own body i feel compelled to provide
some perspective and context in what appears to be a free-for-all storm of stem cell marketing
so what is a stem cell to quota reference from the national institutes of health
stem cells are a specific type of cell capable of evolving into many different types of specialized
cells within the body there are three primary types of stem cells embryonic stem cells are
characterized as pluripotent in nature capable of developing into the 200 or so specialized cells of
the adult organism adult stem cells exist within certain tissues of the body for example blood and
bone marrow and carry out repair and regenerative functions and induced pluripotent stem cells are
adult stem cells that have been genetically reprogrammed to behave like embryonic stem cells
this definition can be confusing for anyone who doesn't have a scientific background
the FDA has made some statements about stem cell therapies in an effort to
protect the public specifically they made a statement titled consumer alert
on regenerative medicine products including stem cells and exosomes dated July 22 2020
in this statement they declared the following stem cell products are regulated by FDA
and generally all stem cell products require FDA approval currently the only stem cell products
that are FDA approved for use in the united states consist of blood forming stem cells
also known as hematopoietic progenitor cells that are derived from umbilical cord blood
these products are approved for use in patients with disorders that affect the production of
blood i.e. the hematopoietic system but they are not approved for other uses exosome products are
also regulated by FDA as a general matter exosome products intended to treat diseases or conditions
in humans requires FDA approval there are currently no FDA approved exosome products
exosomes and liposomes are essentially technologies which allow more direct delivery
of specific drugs or other materials into cells for therapeutic purposes
in my opinion there is a lot of potential for this technology as far as I'm concerned
the therapeutic effects of the specific materials delivered into your cells with these technologies
need to be studied for safety and efficacy as any pharmaceutical or biologic agent would be
there have been some interest in adipose or fat derived stem cells procedures such as stem cell
facelifts or stem cell hair loss treatments are based on a process where fat is harvested with a
procedure like liposuction and then processed for reintroductions for stem cell induced benefits as
far as adipose derived stem cells for hair loss is concerned limited studies showed limited benefits
and currently this type of procedure is no longer as cutting edge as it once was promoted to be
when you have an injury such as a cut cells in your blood called platelets are activated to seal
the injured blood vessel and recruit your body's adult stem cells for the purpose of wound healing
since the late 1990s dentistry orthopedic surgery and more recently aesthetic medicine
has been using platelet-rich plasma for the purpose of directing the recruitment of adult
stem cells from your own body for the benefits specific to the needs of the patient being treated
PRP alone injected into the scalp has been proven in published studies to stimulate
short-term hair growth in people experiencing genetic pattern hair loss unfortunately
using PRP alone for hair loss is limited by the need for frequent scalp injections
typically every one to three months we see a lot of people who get frustrated by the
limited benefits and pain associated with the frequent PRP injections I have to state that
there is a lot of irony in the discovery of PRP for hair loss as we were using PRP as part of our
TrichoStem Hair Regeneration system many years before my colleagues decided to embrace this
new technology many of these doctors went from being PRP detractors to PRP promoters
we have been performing TrichoStem Hair Regeneration treatment since 2011 using
our customized ACell and PRP protocols based on your individual hair loss profile
acellular matrix is often referred to as acell which is actually the company that produces this
wound healing technology derived from pig bladder ACell's micromatrix product has been
FDA cleared for wound healing applications the wound healing benefits are essentially due to
what appears to be an amplification of your body's adult stem cell response to an injury
this was the original basis for our original application of micromatrix during hair transplant
surgery a year after hair transplant surgery it was noted that areas that were not transplanted
appear to have significant regrowth and thickening of the patient's existing hair
this inspired my developing a system of customized formulations and delivery
techniques of acellular matrix with PRP for the non-surgical treatment of
male and female pattern hair loss as well as for other conditions such as traction alopecia
a typical TrichoStem Hair Regeneration treatment plan involves only one to two
treatment sessions with the second treatment session being done 15 to 24 months after the first
benefits from the treatment plan typically last for three to five years or even longer
with over 99 percent of patients seeing an improvement in their scalp coverage
lastly as a note of caution there are a lot of stem cell hair loss treatments being sold online
these products generally fail to meet any of the definitions for stem cells as previously stated
by the FDA and the NIH much of the time these products will be labeled with the disclaimer
this statement has not been evaluated by the FDA this product is not intended
to diagnose treat cure or prevent any disease this disclaimer is used for legitimate products
such as vitamin supplements and it's not necessarily a red flag however when it
comes to products claiming to have stem cells which can be placed in a virtual shopping cart
well caveat emptor or buyer beware I hope this information from my experience helped you
if you're interested in recommendations for your individual situation
you may contact us through our websites or call our offices to schedule consultation thank you